1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to pollution control apparatus and more particularly to pollution control apparatus for motor vehicles.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Devices are known for scrubbing pollutants from air in industrial environments and some pollution control devices have been installed on motor vehicles.
There are several patents which disclose various types of automotive gas scrubbers.
Caballero U.S. Pat. No. 3,353,336 shows a three stage scrubber in line with an automotive exhaust. The scrubber scrubs out pollutants in three separate chambers and the scrubbing water is recovered and recycled.
Wertheimer U.S. Pat. No. 3,282,047 shows a scrubber with baffles which is located between the engine and the muffler and has a collection reservoir for recycling the scrubbing water.
Alliger U.S. Pat. No. 3,768,981 shows an auto exhaust scrubber with catalyst The scrubber passes auto exhaust through a cylindrical screen into a body of liquid and thence on to the exhaust.
Manfredi U.S. Pat. No. 3,967,445 shows an exhaust scrubber with a rotary finned heat exchanger and an after-burner.
Pickering U.S. Pat. No. 4,821,513 shows an automobile exhaust gas cleaner with multiple baffles.
The present invention is distinguished over the prior art in general, and these patents in particular by a pollution control apparatus shown for use on automobiles and trucks. This pollution control apparatus fits on the automotive exhaust pipe. A collector unit is secured between the exhaust pipe and tail pipe. The collector unit has a pair of blowers or bladed rotors which are impinged by a mixture of exhaust gases and water which causes the water droplets and dissolved and entrained materials to separate and drain through outlet drains. Water is injected into a U-shaped trap between exhaust pipe and the collector unit. Water from the bottom of the collector unit is pumped by a pump to a reservoir and entrained material is separated by a filter. Water from the reservoir drains by gravity through a radiator coil and thence to the reservoir from which it flows through vacuum valve to a U-shaped fitting. The water is injected into the exhaust gas stream to wash out entrained and soluble material. The mixture flows through blowers which cause the entrained and water-dissolved material to separate as described.